Police let wife die, says charity

MORE could have been done to prevent a woman's death during a domestic dispute, according a prominent women's rights charity.

Southall Black Sisters (SBS) said police could have saved Shireen Khan, 46, who died in hospital after being strangled by her husband at their home in Southall last October.

Aftab Khan, 48 was sentenced to five years in jail for manslaughter at the Old Bailey last week.

The court heard Khan had applied for a divorce and had tried to get his wife thrown out of their house, which they shared with their three children. The application was refused.

The wife was granted an injunction which meant her husband had to move all his belongings downstairs into the living room, but could not lock the door.

The night before the killing Mrs Khan called police to their home because her husband had been abusive to her, but the police left after issuing him with a warning.

The court heard there had been a history of domestic violence at the flat, and also that Mrs Khan had told her son her boyfriend was better endowed than her husband.

Meena Petal, operations manager at SBS, said: "There is a history of domestic violence there. As far as we're concerned the domestic violence element has yet again been ignored.

"This could have been prevented by police. Officers still have their own powers to arrest - called positive action - and had they taken appropriate steps this could have been avoided.

"This shows how the police fail victims of domestic abuse."

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We have reviewed with local multi-agencies all contact that this family ever had with police to assess where opportunities may have been missed that could have prevented this killing from occurring.

"During the review process it was clear that positive action was taken when police were called by the couple, and the domestic violence issues were recognised and acted upon throughout.

"Although domestic violence issues were present, the killing could not have been foreseen or prevented with the information known at the time.

"The police remain committed to combating domestic violence and the prevention of any offences linked to such a volatile situation."